Mind Games (2014)
ABC | Release Date: February 25, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
9
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikMar 27, 2014
Season 1 Review: Watch this one just for Zahn’s performance. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklFeb 26, 2014
Season 1 Review: It’s an interesting conceit rooted in real behavioral science. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubEmily VanDerWerffFeb 24, 2014
Season 1 Review: The dialogue often crackles; the educational aspect even makes exposition fun to watch. Zahn is quite good, and the supporting cast already has an entertaining ensemble energy. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: Mind Games is less complicated than Killen's other shows--which raises its chances until you factor in the dreadful time slot it will inhabit. Yet even though Zahn is a lot to take while having his bi-polar rants and motor-mouthed moments of anxiety, plus Slater's dubious end-of-the-pilot twist, there are elements in play with Mind Games that make it intriguing. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: Mind Games is the kind of dramedy that could give you a brain cramp. Read full review
58
HitfixAlan SepinwallFeb 24, 2014
Season 1 Review: This compromise version emphasizes some of Killen's own weaknesses — he's not a procedural guy, as the cases on "Awake" tended to demonstrate. Read full review
50
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: The disconnect between what Mind Games wants to be and the show bubbling just under the surface makes it a bit of a puzzling viewing experience. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: [Slater's] new show also needs to find its voice. Still, if there is something in its premise that recalls the straining-for-effect, too-clever-to-start setups of series like USA's "Psych" and "Suits," the first of those managed to run eight seasons in the end, and the latter has already been renewed for a fourth. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: At its heart, Mind Games is a case-of-the-week procedural with some serialized elements, but it's so dense with chatter there may be no mind tricks strong enough to convince viewers to stay tuned. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert BiancoFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: The deeper problem for Mind Games and creator Kyle Killen, whose Lone Star and Awake collapsed under similarly complex stories, is that it's awash in explanation, not just of the premise, but of the plot. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyMarc SnetikerFeb 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: Christian Slater and Steve Zahn play brothers who manipulate people into making decisions, but the characters never register as a pair to root for, and their talents aren't so much dazzling as they are dull. [28 Feb 2014, p.65] Read full review
40
VarietyBrian LowryFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: Conceptually interesting but rather thin in its “Mission: Impossible”-type moorings, the show weaves in some unexpected threads but does little to warrant a second thought. Read full review
33
NewsdayVerne GayFeb 24, 2014
Season 1 Review: The show proceeds at gale force, demolishing logic, plot, meaning and (most of all) pleasure in its path. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Margaret LyonsFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: I am not at all in the bag for Mind Games. There's no bag. Mind Games is an off-putting misfire. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: ABC hits a new low with Mind Games, an inexplicably and ridiculously convoluted drama which achieves the rare trick of making Christian Slater look like a master of understated acting. Read full review
25
Uncle BarkyEd BarkFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: Mind Games just doesn’t work on any level. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandFeb 24, 2014
Season 1 Review: He's worked from an overthought idea and larded it up with remnants of other shows, and the result isn't worth your time. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyFeb 25, 2014
Season 1 Review: Lovable con artists can work on TV, as they did in “Leverage.” They don’t work here, because at every turn the premise and plot get clunkier. Read full review
10
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoFeb 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: NBC's "Ironside" was probably the worst new show of the 2013-14 season but this is a very close second. And it's particularly loathsome because one has to watch talented actors like Steve Zahn and Christian Slater suffer through this manipulative nonsense. Read full review
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